Red Fox

When the fjord is frozen over it is possible for foxes to walk out to the islands. But, although it is unusual for foxes to be on the islands in the birds’ breeding season, it does happen.

It is only on the biggest island, Eskilsø, that foxes have been able to survive all year round. From 1996 to 2014 there have been (with the possible exception of 2002) foxes on Eskilsø all the time, and in several of those years a litter of cubs has been born on the island. This has had catastrophic results for Eskilsø’s breeding birds. From over 1,000 pairs of ground-brooding birds, the population has fallen to single figures. The birds that roost here in autumn and winter do not appear to be much troubled by foxes.

Eskilsø is not the only island where there have been foxes. On Langholm in Lejre Vig a den was found in April 1985 with dead cubs lying in the entrance. While the vixen was out finding food the ice melted so she was not able to get back to the cubs, which therefore died of starvation.


Fox found dead by a box containing rat poison.

On Kølholm a dead vixen and an abandoned den were found in both 2001 and 2002. These foxes were presumably killed by rat poison.